Of Futures Never Lost
by EmeraldNorth
Summary: A collection of one-shots featuring the shinobi who deserved their Happily-Ever-Afters. Semi-AU. Chapter VII. Yahiko, Nagato and Konan (Team Jiraya): "Lord Hanzo," Yahiko smiled weakly, "we're tired. Tired of war. And so are you."
1. Hashirama and Madara

**AN: Because Naruto keeps making me bawl like a waterfall, I wanted to write a series about all the characters that deserved a happy ending. I got inspired by a piece of fanart on pinterest (which also made me cry my eyes dry) and decided to share it with the world.**

 **No, I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

 **I. Hashirama and Madara**

Hashirama Senju let out a big sigh once he spotted the stack of papers on the desk. He glanced over at his raven-haired friend, sitting behind another, more centrally placed desk with an even larger amount of paperwork on it.

"You know…" He began. "I thought making you Hokage would mean I wouldn't have to do any of this." He pouted as he pointed at the scrolls and parchment on his desk.

"Get your lazy head out of the gutter, Hashirama." Madara Uchiha chastised him. "You're not getting out of this scot-free. You can't just give me the title and all the work, we're in this together, remember?"

"But… but… I promised Tsuna I'd pla- train with her!" He corrected himself last minute, all while giving Madara his best puppy look.

"And I promised Mito I'd stop you from teaching your six-year-old granddaughter how to gamble, I know you were going to say 'play' back there." Madara took a dignified sip of tea before redirecting his attention to the document he was currently holding.

"I'm not teaching her how to gamble." Hashirama attempted to defend himself.

The First Hokage shot him a pointed look. "Yeah right… and the other day she didn't start bawling and calling me a cheater because I won a card game against her. Seriously, your family gets depressed too easily."

He furrowed his eyebrows in a mixture of annoyance and worry when a dark aura surrounded Hashirama and he turned into a pile of wallowing sap. "Tsuna lost? After all the training we've been doing?" He muttered to himself in disbelief.

"And this is exactly why your wife doesn't want you near her, you're only rubbing off your bad habits on the poor girl."

"But I'm her grandfather, it's my duty to spoil her." He insisted.

Madara gave him a questioning look. "I don't know whether teaching her how to throw away money can be considered spoiling her."

"Oh shut up already, you have no idea what it's like." The Senju defiantly shot back and looked in the other direction.

"You're right, I don't know what it's like, but I have the feeling I will soon." The Hokage sighed, opening the next scroll.

"What do you mean by that?" Hashirama inquired with a knowing look.

"Akane has a boyfriend."

Hashirama blinked once, then twice, then burst out in loud laughter. "Oh my god…" He wheezed out between laughs. "How did Izuna take the news?"

"He was even more depressed than you are daily." Madara explained calmly.

"That's no surprise, his only daughter is growing up." He laughed. "Soon she'll be married and I'll be Uncle Hashirama!" Then he looked out the window. "Man, we really are getting old, aren't we?"

His friend followed his gaze and met the giant face etched into the cliff. "You're right."

"Do you think we should adjust your face? I mean, you do have quite some wrinkles now…" Hashirama joked.

"I'm pretty sure you're the source of at least 70% of them." Madara sighed in defeat as he ran his hand through his greying hair.

"And the other 30%?"

"Listening to your granddaughter calling me a cheater. Listening to Mito complain about your antics. Akane telling me about her teenage troubles. Izuna telling me about his troubles dealing with Akane's teenage troubles. The discussion whether the Uchiha crest should be an oval or a circle. The list goes on."

Hashirama laughed again, and Madara couldn't help but lift one corner of his mouth as well. He took another sip of his tea, glancing over his, no, their village once more.

The other corner of his mouth lifted as well. They had this settlement where they could watch over their families and see endlessly across the horizon. Children didn't kill each other, Ge-nin didn't have to take on missions too difficult for them and young shinobi were nurtured in the Academy.

All the fighting, all the ghosts from the past, his father's voice asking him to betray his friend, all of it died down into this tranquil moment of peace.

"Please don't smile, Madara, it's creepy." And Hashirama, even in old age, was still a dick.

"Shut up and continue working, Hashirama. Don't make me tell Mito you were slacking." He said sternly, only to be met with another heap of depression.

"Please don't, she'll definitely kill me this time."

The Hokage rubbed his temples and let out another sigh. "We seriously need to do something about your condition."

A knock sounded from the door.

"Come in!" Madara ordered, and a few seconds later a young, blonde girl popped her head in through the door.

"Grandpa!" She exclaimed running towards Hashirama.

"Tsuna!" The man exclaimed with equal enthusiasm.

"You promised me you would play with me today, Grandpa." The little girl pouted.

Hashirama shot Madara a devious look while getting out of his chair and kneeling down in front of her. "Oh, my sweet Tsuna, Grandpa's terribly busy, you know? Uncle Madara is making him work a loooot." His voice held heavy exaggeration, which only enticed the black-haired man to roll his eyes.

The little girl gave the Hokage a poisonous glare. "Uncle Madara is a big cheater and a meanie."

"I know, right?" Hashirama cooed at his granddaughter. "He's making Grandpa work soooo much, Grandpa doesn't have time for his favourite Tsuna."

A thud sounded through the office as Madara let his forehead meet the surface of his wooden desk. Why did he put up with this nonsense?

"Uncle Madara!" The little girl said with a lot of authority. "I'm taking Grandpa with me now. No more over-working him!"

"I don't think the two of you are going anywhere." A female voice thundered throughout the office. In the doorway stood the resident redhead, Mito Senju. Both Tsunade and Hashirama froze in their tracks at her appearance, equally large drops of sweat running down their backs.

"Mito, I can explain…"

The woman ignored her husband and lowered herself till she was on eye-level with Tsunade. "Tsunade, dear, come with Grandma. Grandpa is really busy right now."

The little blonde girl pouted. "But Uncle Madara is so mean to Grandpa."

Mito smiled at her reassuringly. "It's not being mean, it's being sensible." Then she added, "And your Grandpa can handle it, he's a tough guy."

Tsunade's eyes lit up and she looked up at Hashirama. "Grandpa is tough!"

Hashirama felt pride wash over him as he nodded vigorously. "Of course, Tsuna, the toughest of them all!"

"Which is why," an evil glint crossed Mito's eyes, "we can leave him here and go eat something. Let's go, Tsunade."

"Alright, Grandma." She cheerfully skipped after the elder woman, leaving behind a depressed Hashirama.

A few seconds later he poked his head out the doorway and shouted, "Wait, Tsuna! Grandpa isn't so tough!"

Upon getting no answer he slumped down in his chair and wallowed away.

"I've changed my mind." Madara spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

Hashirama lifted his head, showering him with hopeful eyes. "You're going to let me go play with Tsuna?"

"Heavens, no. I meant that you're the source of at least 90% of my wrinkles and all of my grey hair." Madara concluded.

"Tsuna was right, you're nothing but a big meanie." His best friend huffed.

* * *

 **AN: HashiMada is my Naruto BroTP #1.**

 **For those of you that actually still stick around and read this part, there's something I want to make clear: I'm fully aware that character deaths and conflicts are one of the main ways to get a story moving, and as such there's nothing I have against Kishimoto's decisions (okay, maybe Neji's death was a bit unnecessary...), but for all the tears I have shed over them, I want to write at least one happy scene for all of them, a moment of happiness that will have you crying from happiness.**

 **Future chapters will include Team Hiruzen, Team Minato, the original Akatsuki (under Yahiko), the Uchiha clan (starring my one and only Itachi), Team Gai, and some others! If you have any other wishes, let me know :)**

 **I'm always happy about constructive reviews :)**

 **~Emi**


	2. Sasuke and Itachi

**II. Sasuke and Itachi**

The two brothers stared each other down, ignoring the pounding rain that had almost completely soaked through their clothes.

Itachi towered over his younger brother, but that didn't faze Sasuke the slightest bit.

Their breaths were controlled and steady as they slowly slid their shoes through the mud and into their battle stances. There was complete silence, even with the monotonous sound the rain made on impact with the ground.

This was it. The moment of truth. The moment he had been waiting for.

Here and now, Sasuke would take his revenge.

"Do you really think you can take me on, Sasuke?" Itachi taunted confidently, but calmly.

"I've come this far, and you won't be the one to stop me." Sasuke replied with a murderous undertone.

"We'll see about that." Itachi closed his eyes slowly, then snapped them open as they swirled to life in a vibrant red and black pattern.

"Heh." His younger brother chuckled and activated his Sharingan in response.

In a flash, they dashed towards each other, red orbs constantly reading their opponents movements and dodging expertly, punches and kicks executed perfectly and the occasional bout of mud flying through the air in an attempt of misdirecting the other's attention.

The Sharingan shone brightly and contrasted the grey sky and moved from side to side and up and down.

Each strike was countered by the right block, each kick sidestepped or dodged and in the flurry of controlled limbs, and neither sibling managed to land a hit on each other.

They pulled back from each other, their breathing a bit heavier than in the beginning. Their shoes and trousers were covered in mud, their clothes drenched from the rain, but that didn't matter to them.

The tension between them grew stronger and stronger each second, and the Sharingan moved left, right, left, right.

Both of them brought their hands up in front of them and started weaving signs in a blur of fingers. Now it was up to who chose what technique to go with, and who would have finished it first.

Itachi felt like smirking to himself the moment he saw the first two hand signs his little brother made. They were for the Chidori, of course.

He himself had chosen to go with the Uchiha standard, the Goukakyuu. It gave him the advantage in their situation, since the Chidori only worked if your opponent was close enough; the fireball, on the other hand, could easily cover the distance between them.

He didn't need his Sharingan to envision his brother's right hand steadying his left arm in order to prepare the assassination technique.

In a prideful moment of victory, Itachi noted that he would be done with his weaving a split second faster and saw himself bringing his fingers up to his lips and releasing a hefty fire ball that would light up the grey and gloomy environment.

A the same time, a familiar screeching noise would fill their surroundings as the Chidori crackled in Sasuke's left hand.

However, before that scenario could become reality, a pair of shuriken swished past their faces at an alarming speed with high accuracy. Both Uchihas interrupted their weaving and turned towards the interrupting party, ready to reprimand them for interrupting them, until the shuriken were followed by various kitchen knives and other utensils that lodged themselves in the tree behind them.

Itachi and Sasuke froze and felt the chill of their wet clothes clinging to their skins. Reprimanding this person would definitely get both of them killed.

"What are the two of you doing out here?" Mikoto Uchiha sweetly asked her two sons.

"S-sparring, mother." Itachi answered after a moment of hesitation. "Sasuke told me he needed some training.

"I see." She tilted her head to the side with an innocent smile. "I really think it's wonderful that you two are training with each other, especially since you, Itachi, are so busy with all your ANBU missions. But tell me, was it really necessary to do it in our backyard, of which I have mentioned several times that training is strictly prohibited?"

Her voice grew deeper towards the end of her sentence as her own Sharingan activated to loom over the two teenaged boys.

With her kind and gentle personality, it was easy to forget that Mikoto was, in fact, a jounin.

The two brothers gulped as they looked down at their mud-covered shoes and trousers, only now realizing the drag marks they left in the formerly immaculate green grass that their mother put so much work in to.

"Well?" She asked again. "What was so important that you couldn't go to the training grounds?"

Itachi shot his younger brother an inconspicuous look, since this had been primarily Sasuke's fault. Well, _primarily_. If he had just jumped off in time, things wouldn't have come this far.

Meanwhile, Sasuke could feel his elder brother's eyes on him. He suddenly felt ashamed for the stupid reason behind it all, but in that moment it seemed like a good idea.

"I'm sorry, mother, it's my fault," Itachi suddenly spoke up.

Sasuke threw him a surprised look, not having expected his brother to take the fall for him. He felt his heart grow in pride at the great big brother he had, and it made him feel all the more ashamed that he had started the fight over something so petty.

"… Sasuke was just really begging me to spar with him and I just couldn't say no." Itachi finished.

The younger Uchiha suddenly felt as if he had lost all faith in his brother as his mother's imploring shadow grew over him. "Sasuke, dear, I heard that you volunteered to help me with the flowers on the weekend, that's so kind of you."

In all honesty, he might have felt the motherly love behind that statement if only it hadn't sounded like a death threat.

He just nodded meekly, still taken aback by Itachi betraying and abandoning him, leaving him alone in the clutches of their mother's punishment.

"Now, how about the two of you go in and shower, you're going to catch colds if you continue standing out here in the rain." She cooed and ushered them in, but not before threatening to make them scrub the entire compound floor if they dripped mud on any of the floorboards.

* * *

After their shower and changing into dry and comfy clothes, Itachi felt the guilt nagging at his heart because his younger brother still refused to look at him, instead staring at his mug of tea.

"Hey, Sasuke…" he started.

Sasuke defiantly turned his head to the side with a pout.

"…I'm sorry I ate your steamed bun."

* * *

 **AN: I actually planned to update this earlier, but my plans never really work out... so, yeah...**

 **Itachi is bae. I won't let you tell me otherwise. But I might feature the Uchihas again in future chapters :)**

 **I hoped you liked it, if you have any ideas for this series fell free to leave a review :)**

 **~Emi**


	3. Team Hiruzen

**III. Team Hiruzen**

The blonde woman was seething. Her hand trembling. "Give me some sake now!" She roared.

The other two shinobi in the room warily eyed each other, silently challenging the other to speak first. After a few seconds, one of the individuals sighed.

"That's really not a good idea, Tsunade." A raspy voice answered her cautiously. He shrunk back the venomous glare in her eyes.

"I don't care!" She shouted back at him. "It's either that or I kill somebody now!"

"That wouldn't be too favourable either." A white-haired man tried to calm her down.

"Shut up or I'll kill you first, Jiraya!" She seethed at him, making the toad sage shrink back in fear. Then she glared at her other teammate. "Orochimaru, sake, NOW!"

The pale-skinned man took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "No. You are prohibited from drinking during the next four months, Tsunade. All these scrolls you wrote yourself say that."

He gestured to a neat pile of scrolls on a shelf, but she just continued giving him the evil eye.

"Oh, you're definitely the one I'm killing first." She growled. If looks could kill, half of the village would probably be dead already.

"What did we do to deserve this?!" Jiraya whimpered, cowering behind the snake sage.

"I don't know, but this is all part of the cycle of life." Orochimaru answered disdainfully, not exactly helpful.

"Can you imagine the demon growing inside her?" His teammate whispered.

"Unfortunately, exceedingly." He sighed, getting the chills at the thought of a mini-Tsunade. Worst of all, there'd be two of them in the world, and one was more than enough already.

"Oi, I can hear you…" She spoke in a low, threatening voice. "So stop talking about my unborn child and get me some sake! And where the fuck is my husband?"

"Busy." The other two San-nin answered simultaneously, thinking back to the innocent smile Dan Katou had given them while leaving his pregnant wife in their care. At this point in time that smile rivalled the devil's grin.

"We should have just left the village when we had the chance." The white-haired man sweatdropped. "You know that S-Rank Mission? It really doesn't sound too bad right now…"

His friend nodded mutely in agreement.

"Are you two seriously agreeing now of all times?!" The blonde's imposing voice thundered in the room.

"D-Deep breaths, Tsunade, deep breaths." Jiraya peeked over Orochimaru's shoulder.

"Alright," she said calmly. "I'll breathe deeply if you two morons stop breathing!"

"I always thought the Hokage was supposed to protect the villagers, not expose them to vicious she-devils." The toad sage shrunk back.

"And I thought he had the ANBU to do tasks like these." His black-haired comrade answered.

"You two are impossible!" Tsunade screeched as tears suddenly began falling down her cheeks. "Get me something to eat!"

"What would you like?!" They both asked immediately, already in panic-mode. Crying Tsunade was not a good Tsunade.

"Your heads roasted on stakes!" She hollered at them, throwing the sharpest object within her reach at her two teammates. "I'll also take the rest of your dead bodies with nori seasoning!"

"This is bad…" Orochimaru whispered to the toad sage who was still cowering behind him. They had only narrowly managed to dodge the letter-opener that was aimed at their heads, and Tsunade still had many other objects lying around her, just waiting to be turned into projectiles.

"I know, she hasn't requested that for a while…" He shuddered.

"T-Tsunade, why don't you wait here while we get the cook?" Jiraya asked the seething slug sage, only to receive another poisonous glare.

"Trying to run away, I see…" She chuckled darkly before reaching to a thick book lying on the table next to her. "That's not gonna happen!"

* * *

Jiraya laid sprawled out on one of the benches in front of the hospital room, taking deep, exhausted breaths. He was hungry, sleep-deprived and ready to murder the next person who dared speak to him.

He heard the sound of somebody sliding down the wall next to him and settling on the ground, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

He forced his eyes open and glanced at the newcomer, confirming it to be his black-haired teammate. Then he let himself drift into much-needed slumber, knowing Orochimaru was probably doing the same.

* * *

The nurse eyed the two shinobi sitting in front of the Hokage's wife's room, noting the heavy bags under their eyes and obvious exhaustion on their faces.

She knew from experience how troublesome hormone-instable Tsunade could be, but those two seemed to have taken the brunt of things. She went to storage room and got out two blankets, draping them over the two of them and leaving with a small smile on her face.

It must be nice having teammates that care about you that much.

* * *

Hiruzen had been overjoyed when Jiraya and Orochimaru suddenly showed up asking him to come along when they visited Tsunade. It was a dream come true that the two of them got along so well nowadays, but he realized exactly why that was once an enraged Tsunade began throwing things across the hospital room.

He also realized exactly why they had asked him to come along, or rather, to suffer alongside them. After sidestepping an airborne flower vase and Tsunade suddenly breaking out in tears which resulted in Jiraya and Orochimaru immediately jumping to her side and attempting to fulfil her every wish, he suddenly couldn't help himself and started laughing.

His three students turned to him with shocked faces, but he just went up to them and pulled them all into a tight hug.

This moment of happiness, this was all he needed. The three children he got assigned to that day, the three children who couldn't have been more different, they were all grown up now, yet they still acted so incredibly childish around each other.

He pulled them all closer to himself and laughed so heartfully and honestly that he felt the tears begin to form in his eyes.

Unfortunately he underestimated the danger of a crying Tsunade, which eventually led to an apologetic- looking nurse giving him an ointment for the new bump he was now sporting on his head.

But he didn't care, even with the throbbing pain he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

* * *

 **AN: Wow, look, I actually updated...**

 **~Emi**


	4. Team Minato

**IV. Team Minato**

Kakashi let out a frustrated groan. Why was this so difficult? He was a ninja, for goodness' sake. A jounin at that. He was trained to endure.

So why was Obito still number one on the list of things he had problems enduring?

"Ahhh, look at her, isn't she adorable?!" The Uchiha gushed over a small photo. It was hard to believe that he was an adult.

"I get it, Obito, your daughter's cute. Now leave me alone." The silver-haired ninja grumbled while pushing Obito to the side. Seriously, the guy was on parental leave, he could at least be considerate enough not to bother those who actually have to work.

But Obito, with his goddamn super positive attitude, amplified by the happiness of becoming a father, was a bigger force to deal with than a legion of enemy shinobi.

He'd take on a group of Kiri Ninja anyday, just get Obito away from him.

Anyways, what was with his energy levels? Isn't taking care of a baby really exhausting?

He remembers the time he had to take care of Minato's son, and it was a pure nightmare. He shuddered at the memory. Naruto Namikaze was a little demon, and Kushina was the Devil herself.

"Oooooh and you have to come over, Rin's cooking, and we'll invite Sensei and Naruto and Kushina! Oh, and Asuma and Kurenai as well! Gai can come too!" Obito drabbled on, ignoring his former teammate.

"And if I say I'm busy?" Kakashi sighs, resting his face in his palm. Obito was a headache inducer.

"Then we'll find a day you're free! I can't wait for my sweet little daughter to meet her godfather!" He cooed at the picture.

Kakashi was really beginning to regret agreeing to that, but Rin was hormonal and crying and in the middle of being a blubbering mess and Obito was glaring at him, daring him to say no, so he couldn't say no if he wanted to survive the day.

On the upside, he would have already been at the hospital.

"I kinda have a mission right now." Kakashi told him, slipping his ANBU mask over his face and walking past him.

"Oh, good luck!" Obito called after him, then returned his attention to the picture of the newest addition to the Uchiha clan.

He sighed to himself and shook his head. Obito was impossible.

But that wasn't important right now, he had a mission.

* * *

Of course Obito asked the Hokage when Kakashi would have time.

Of course the Hokage, being none other than Minato, their Sensei, went out of his way to organize a day on which the entirety of their group had time.

Of course he had to hold the baby.

Minato teased him about how it reminded him of when Naruto was a baby, to which the academy student merely huffed and looked away.

Rin was overjoyed that her daughter got along so well with him, and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Kushina had commented on how cute they looked together, and somebody took a picture of them.

He frowned. Was he the only one who saw it?

It wasn't a genjutsu, no, Kurenai would have realized that. Obito had his sharingan, he would have also noticed it.

Gai told him that it was his most youthful moment yet, not that Kakashi thought he would ever find out exactly what that meant.

He was really, truly the only one who saw it, right?

He glanced back at the baby Uchiha in his arms, and a cold shiver travelled down his spine.

It was a demon. There was no way in hell that was a human being.

Her mischievous smile was taunting him, laughing at him, sniggering as she stood next to Hell's gate. He could already hear Izanami's voice calling out to him, reaching out for him with her rotting hands.

It was Naruto all over again.

He gulped nervously. Her eyes were pitch black, obviously from Obito's side of the family, but one day they would be a bright crimson. Mercilessly looking down on her enemies, they would fear her and her eyes.

"Aaaw, she's so adorable!" Kurenai spoke to Asuma while gently holding a finger out for the baby girl to play with.

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts, ready to loudly warn Kurenai to get her finger away from the demon lest she devour it, but the black-haired woman was fully invested in making silly noises to which the spawn of Satan in his arms happily reacted.

He had a sudden realization. That was it! Maybe Obito was Satan, and Kushina was just a really powerful demon.

That would explain why Obito has nearly driven him to sheer insanity so many times! And why his daughter was giving him the evillest look demonly possible!

All the puzzle pieces fell into place, and Kakashi was self-satisfied with having found an explanation for all the misery he has to endure since being put on the same team as Obito, aka Satan.

Life suddenly made sense again. With clarity of mind, Kakashi survived the evening. Having fully embraced the two Uchihas as demons, he easily waltzed through the night, talking and laughing with the others, eating and enjoying Rin's food and even holding on to Satan's daughter a second time.

* * *

Kurenai leaned over to Asuma. "Do you also think Kakashi is acting weird?"

Asuma shrugged in response. "He's probably sleep-deprived or something. I heard his last mission was pretty tough."

Kurenai nodded. "Yeah, you're right, that's probably it."

* * *

"You know Kakashi, when you meet the right girl… you'll be a great father." Obito beamed at him.

Kakashi froze up, gripping the kunai he was cleaning a bit harder. Him? A father? A little demon in disguise running up and down his apartment?

A horrified look crossed his face. "Over my dead body."

* * *

 **AN: Aaaand here's the next one! Enjoy! (Even though I'm not toooo sure about this one yet...)**

 **Thoughts and reviews are always appreciated!**

 **PS: I didn't give the baby a name because I couldn't think of one. Do you have any ideas?**

 **~Emi**


	5. Neji and Hinata

**V: Neji and Hinata**

The room was filled with silence, blank eyes filled with disbelief and disapproval staring back at him. Others had often told him that looking him in the eye could be unsettling, but it was only now that he understood what they really meant.

He gulped quietly, doing his best to keep his brave front up. Lady Hinata was probably twice as nervous as he was, after all. She needed all the support she could get.

"I'm sorry, Lady Hinata, but could you please repeat that?" One Hyuuga Elder asked once the shock had died down.

She took a deep breath. "I want to change our old-fashioned ways. I want to abolish the Caged Bird Seal." She repeated earnestly, eyes brimming with seriousness. "The way we treat the Branch members is simply unacceptable."

"Old-fashioned?! You dare say something against the valued traditions of this clan?!" Another Elder spoke up, rising from her seated position. "You, especially you, as princess of this clan, cannot possibly be saying such things! Can you imagine what the branch members would do if we had no control over them?!"

"Yes, they would be less miserable!" Hinata shouted back at the old woman, one of the few times she had shouted in her lifetime. "We are all blood-related, even claim to be family, but we do nothing but treat them like slaves, like lesser beings! Our bloodline carries the Byakugan, the all-seeing eyes, but if you are blind to their misery, you don't deserve that ability! I don't want my 'family' to bow down to me in fear every morning, I don't want my older brother addressing me as 'Lady' every time he sees me, I don't want people to harbour hatred towards me because of who my father is!"

Another Elder shook his head. "You are young and naïve, Lady Hinata, you cannot possibly understand the importance of the Caged Bird Seal. We cannot just get rid of it, it would end in disaster."

"Yes, I may be young, but I have survived a war and fought for this village, I have experienced more than anybody my age should ever have. But it was I who chose this path, the path of the shinobi, the path to lead the Hyuuga clan once my father retires. I don't care about tradition, I care about the moment we live in."

"It is a foolish decision, may the person who put the thought in your mind rot in hell." The first elder added disapprovingly. "We cannot allow it."

Neji could only watch as Hinata's front began to brittle down, and he desperately wanted to tell her it was okay, and that she had done more than she could ever imagine for him. His hatred towards her in their younger years had been completely unreasonable, and over time they had formed a solid sibling-like relationship. Watching her struggle against the group of old men and women hurt his heart. It really did.

Hanabi caught on as well and gripped her older sister's hand tightly. The effect was immediate, Hinata taking another deep breath before continuing.

"I did not ask for your permission." Hinata went on courageously. "I hereby dissolve the Council of Elders."

The uproar outclassed their initial reaction to her proposition. Their voices mixed and meddled into an incoherent sea of noise, some attempting to play off her statement as a joke.

He stepped forward, putting his hand on her shoulder. They would fight for this together, the three of them.

"Do not make me repeat myself!" She commanded loudly, interrupting all the Elders. "You may leave now, the clan does not require your services any longer!"

They all grew silent, uneasily looking at each other, unsure of what to do.

"I said LEAVE!" Hinata spoke with finality, unconsciously activating her Byakugan. Her free hand shot out, fingers pointed at the sliding doors.

The Elders stepped back in fear, immediately storming out of the room, but not without leaving nasty remarks in the air. Once the last one had left, Hinata slid to the ground, visibly exhausted.

"Sister!" Hanabi cried out, gently helping her down with Neji.

"Lady Hinata, you shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard." He remarked with worry.

"No," Hinata shook her head with determination. "I did have to go this far. Brother Neji, you've done so much for me, if I couldn't at least do this for you, I would never be able to forgive myself. You always have my back, and if my words will help you, I will voice my thought loud and clear."

"Lady Hinata…"

"Everybody's always helped me out, been there for me, but I've never given them anything back. The kind lady who always dressed my wounds, the girls who washed our laundry, the boys who sweep our grounds daily and the men who guard it."

She reached out, placing her palm over his forehead.

"They live with this burden, yet they work their hardest every day. They give me their brightest smile every day. I wonder, once I free them from this Cursed Seal, will they smile even brighter? If so, I would like to see that."

"I want to see that too!" Hanabi joined in with glimmering eyes. "I want to see Brother Neji smile as well!"

He chuckled heavy-heartedly. "Are you saying that I don't smile?"

The younger Hyuuga shook her head. "Not enough, you're way too serious."

"Well, we'll just have to see what the future holds for us." He answered.

"I will definitely change our clan." Hinata said with conviction. She gave Neji a smile. "I will give all of you the freedom you deserve."

He sighed, a warmth spreading through his heart. "Thank you, Hinata. Thank you."

* * *

 **AN: If Hinata can throw her husband and her son out of her house, she can also scold a room full of old-fashioned grannies stuck in their thoughts of tradition.**

 **Besides, this was one of my personally biggest issues with Naruto's ending. Like, what happened with the Hyuuga clan? Did they get their reforms or not? Because I don't really think that Hinata and her father are really on talking terms, at least it's not really portrayed that way in Boruto.**

 **But then again, I'm not a big fan of Boruto. I only watch it sporadically because I like Mitsuki and Inojin. Himawari's pretty adorable too.**

 **The rest is kinda meh. It's like a 'worst father award show'. And weirldy enough, Orochimaru seems like a totally decent parent in comparison.**

 **Oh well, it always makes me happy when you leave a review! Next one will feature _Team Gai_! The Power of Youth!**

 **~Emi**


	6. Team Gai

**VI: Team Gai**

 _He watched her as she walked up and down the clearing with a pensive frown on her face. While part of him felt as if the burden on his soul had grown lighter by just a fragment, another, smaller part was still writhing in nervousness at her lack of response. He suppressed it as quickly as it surfaced._

 _She halted suddenly, whirling around in the blink of an eye and sinking three kunai into the bark of the tree he was leaning on, mere centimetres away from his head._

" _That is some of the biggest bullshit I've ever heard in my life, and we're on a team with Rock Lee." She practically growled._

" _It is fate." He answered evenly, just the way he had trained himself to do since he was little. Not letting the enemy read your expression was key to being a shinobi._

" _Bullshit, don't make me repeat myself." She grunted, lodging another kunai into the tree._

" _It is as it is. You don't have to like it, but I believe knowing such things about each other is vital when working together."_

" _You're right, I don't like it." She glared at him for his words. "If I were to take your words and replace 'main family' and ' branch members' with 'holder' and 'slaves', we'd be back at the academy, listening to history lectures. I can't believe this is permitted here. What is Lord Third thinking?"_

" _The Hokage has no say in our clan affairs." Neji explained._

 _Tenten frowned and pulled out another kunai, but halted before throwing it._

" _Of course he doesn't, of course he doesn't." Her voice grew softer, but he didn't miss the disappointed undertone._

" _However, this shouldn't affect our missions, so there is no need for you to overthink this." He continued pragmatically, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, subconsciously avoiding eye contact with her._

 _She glanced over at him, sad smile on her lips. "How can I not overthink this?"_

* * *

He stepped out of the hospital for the first time in a few days. The sunlight blinded his sensitive eyes, causing him to lift his arms to shield them from it. Once his eyes adjusted, he took in the vibrant blue of the cloudless sky.

A flock of birds flew across the azure canvas, enticing a half-smile from him.

He felt so much lighter, all of a sudden. No, the burden on his soul seemed so much lighter, as it stopped eating away at him.

He was finally free, like those birds.

"Neji!" A female voice called out to him, an all too familiar female voice.

His white eyes left the sky and turned towards his teammate.

"Thank god they finally let you out, nobody told us why you were suddenly admitted to the hospital like th-" She began rambling, hands stemmed on her hips, but her speech came to a sudden stop once he lowered his arm again.

Her mouth opened and closed again as multiple expressions of shock, disbelief and surprise crossed her face.

A few seconds later, she seemed to have found her voice again. "Is this a genjutsu?"

He chuckled at her nearly comical reaction. "No, no it isn't."

A look of suspicion crossed her face as she tentatively stepped closer to him, until they were directly face to face. Unbothered by their height difference, she gently ran her fingers across his forehead.

His clear forehead.

She pulled back in surprise and covered her mouth. "Why didn't you tell us?"

He gave her a smile that reached his usually emotionless eyes. "It was rather a sudden decision. The other branch members are currently recovering from the proced- Are you crying?!"

Halfway through his answer, thick tears had formed in the corners of her eyes and trickled down the side of her face, pooling over her fingers.

She nodded mutely as more tears flowed down her cheeks.

He frowned at her. "Why are you crying?"

She sniffled once before tackling him in a hug that was more like a death-grip. As the air was knocked out his lungs he was involuntarily reminded that being part of Team Gai came with having monstrous strength.

Instead of answering, however, she just continued sobbing and tightened her grip around his torso.

He coughed as a result of how Tenten was compressing his lungs with inhuman force, but nothing he said seemed to calm her down.

Looking around for external help, he was met with Lee's jovial face.

"P-Power of Y-Youth." The green-clad ninja stuttered before his eyes welled up in an exaggerated fashion.

Neji only had time to mentally curse his luck as he was engulfed in a Rock-Lee-Special-Bear-Hug-of-Youth. He wheezed as the pressure around his torso doubled and Lee joined Tenten in crying into his clean shirt.

He briefly wondered whether he'd need to spent some more time in the hospital after this.

In the distance he could see Gai approaching them. Reaching out his hand in an overly dramatic fashion, he hoped his teacher would help him.

Of course, that wasn't the case.

Gai Maito teared up at his students' youthful display and effortlessly lifted all three of them up, squishing them against each other, all while crying and laughing at the same time.

Neji swore he was going to lose consciousness as black dots clouded his vision. Why did he put up with these people again?

He felt the wetness of their tears seeping further through his shirt and mentally sighed. He didn't need to ask Tenten why she was crying.

They were a team. A family.

They were crying for him. His shirt was soaked in tears of relief and happiness.

And snot. Lots of snot.

* * *

 **AN: This one's kind of a continuation of the last one, dedicated to my number one favourite team! They deserved so much better :/**

 **I want to thank SaltyCandy for reviewing every single chapter, thank you so much for the positive feedback! :)**

 **I hope you liked it, so leave a review!**

 **~Emi**


	7. Yahiko, Nagato and Konan (Team Jiraya)

**VII: Yahiko, Nagato and Konan (Team Jiraya)**

Hanzo Of The Salamander made out an imposing figure, that was undeniable. His posture was relaxed, radiating his confidence in his skills and his experience on the battlefield.

All bad deeds aside, Hanzo was a man worth respecting.

Yahiko sat straight as a rod, still not quite believing that his pleas had gotten through to the leader of the Amegakure, and that they had gotten invited to an actual meeting with him.

Konan and Nagato had helped him significantly, going over his speech multiple times, but once they sat in that room, he could only think about the unlikeliness of the situation.

But what he found most unbelievable was the hint of interest that sparkled in Hanzo's eyes.

"The Akatsuki, was it?" The man mused, his speech muffled slightly by his mask.

Yahiko swallowed, then put on the bravest face he could muster. "That's right, Lord Hanzo."

"Peace missionaries, that's what you call yourselves, right?" Hanzo continued, his eyes glancing over a scroll, a scroll that looked exactly like the one they had sent him prior to their meeting. He hummed, then flicked his eyes back upwards, meeting Yahiko's gaze head-on. "I'm all ears."

The orange-haired man felt a mixture of wariness and relief build up in his stomach. Wariness because this was _Hanzo_ , a man whose clutches they only managed to escape due to sheer luck, and relief because maybe, just maybe this would work.

He took a deep breath, ignoring his hammering heart. He could feel Konan's and Nagato's soothing presence next to him, reminding him of their goal, their dream.

"Lord Hanzo, the three of us are war orphans." He started off. Admittedly, there were better ways to begin a speech, but Yahiko was a shinobi, not a politician.

"We've seen our fair share of bloodshed, and we learned that we needed to fight in order to survive before we could even read and write properly." He paused, reminding himself to keep his voice steady. "We've seen children younger than ourselves fall victim to the war."

"That is the nature of war. It is chaos, and there is no differentiation on the battlefield. You either survive or you die." Hanzo remarked tiredly.

"Just because that's the way things are does not mean I have to accept them with my head bowed!" Yahiko retorted a bit too forcefully. He gulped, cleared his throat awkwardly and continued talking, not missing the slight change of expression in Hanzo's eyes.

"I'm not going to talk around the bush. I don't want anybody else to experience what we went through. I don't want innocent children scavenging corpses in order to survive, and I don't want said children to die without anybody even remembering their names. I… I don't want anybody to suffer anymore."

"Pain and suffering are part of being human, especially if you're a shinobi." Hanzo pointed out. "You'd need to be God to change that." He narrowed his eyes at them. "Do you want to play God?"

As soon as the question left Hanzo's lips, Yahiko began shaking his head frantically. "No, please don't misunderstand!"

The village leader looked at him imploringly, wordlessly telling him to go on.

"I understand that pain and suffering are what make us human. If we didn't have any bad times, we wouldn't know how to treasure the good ones. There is no dark without light, no yin without yang. However, this has nothing to do with God. I don't know if such a creature exists, but if I does, it's not coming to help us anytime soon." Yahiko exhaled shakily.

A comforting hand landed on his shoulder, Konan's slim fingers tightening around the fabric of his cloak.

"That's why it's up to us to change things." He concluded his speech, somewhat lamely.

Hanzo hummed in thought. "And how would you proceed with that? Form an alliance with one of the Great Nations? Only to be trampled on by the others?"

Yahiko shook his head once more. "No, form an alliance with _all_ the Great Nations."

A moment of silence hung heavily in the room, suddenly disrupted by a strangled sound escaping Hanzo's mouth. A few seconds later, the legendary shinobi was laughing unabashedly.

"You can't be serious! That's crazy! No, that's downright stupid!" Hanzo roared. "And to think so many of my men would defect to your little organization for a reason like that!"

"Lord Hanzo," Yahiko smiled weakly, "we're tired. Tired of war. And so are you."

Hanzo stopped laughing abruptly, leaving nothing but silence hanging in the air once more. Yahiko could tell by the look in his eyes; it was the same sight that greeted him whenever he looked in the mirror, or at any of the other Akatsuki members.

He inhaled sharply. "Do you know why we called ourselves the Akatsuki? It's because we wish to bring about a new dawn, a fresh start our world desperately needs."

"You're not wrong, kid." Hanzo finally spoke again. "But it's still crazy. Suicidal even."

"Somebody needs to take the first step, right?" Yahiko said determinedly. "And if I have the chance, the opportunity, to make that first step, I will!"

"Lord Hanzo," Konan began speaking. "We aren't naïve enough to believe that this problem can be solved overnight. But if we can lay the foundation to interrupt the cycle of violence, then we will gladly go down doing just that." Her voice was firm and full of conviction.

Hanzo regarded them with sceptical eyes. "War is all that I know. I wouldn't know what to do in times of peace." He admitted after a few seconds.

"Then we'll learn." Nagato spoke up. "We'll learn how to live a peaceful life."

Hanzo's gaze softened ever so slightly, showing the weary eyes of a tired, old man. "I don't know whether I can do that."

"Neither do we." Yahiko said softly. "Neither do we. But it's worth a try."

Hanzo merely hummed in response, but he didn't seem against it.

* * *

 **AN: These just keep getting shorter and shorter...**

 **That aside, leave a review if you liked it :)**

 **~Emi**


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